(singing of "amazing grace") thank you. (applause) (music)

each year, thousands of people around the country help to organize recovery month community events and celebrations in september, in cities and towns across the nation. these events bring together the courageous people in recovery, the caring service providers that work tirelessly to support people in recovery, and the family and friends who are so vital in making recovery a reality. this year, the efforts of thousands of individuals throughout the country produce more than a thousand events nationwide, supporting our 2011 theme, "join the voices for recovery. recovery benefits everyone." these recovery month events confirm that we are making great progress in building strong recovery communities. for everyone to be successful over the long run, we must

support people in recovery, not only with our encouraging words but also with housing, education, and employment. recovery month events make the faces of recovery visible in the community, highlighting the fact that people in recovery are our family members, friends, and neighbors. and it underscores the need for ongoing support for those who have beat addiction and mental illness and are now living happy and productive lives in recovery. we have seen rallies, jamborees, block parties, sporting events, motorcycle rides, community walks, wellness activities, and art shows among the many events listed on the recovery month web site. participants in these events have experienced fun and fellowship. we want to thank the thousands of people responsible for organizing recovery month events.

your creativity and dedication is inspiring. we are making a difference by making these events possible. it's the miracle of sobriety, but we've got to do it together, right? so can i get a big cheer for doing it one day at a time, together? (cheering) this kind of an event is not only geared to help break the stigma and discrimination that surrounds addiction, but also as a lifeline for some folks, to say that, indeed, recovery is possible. events like this dispel the myths that surround mental illness and addiction. so it's really helping people to get a visual-that, indeed, people from all walks of life have suffered from this disease but also recover from this disease. communities need to celebrate recovery because every-, believe it or not, every one of us knows someone

that's in recovery, and we don't know it. the reality is that the phenomena of addiction is pervasive, and it crosses generations. it crosses families. august 19th, 1981, i ran away from the meridian home for girls just outside philadelphia to the streets of the fort lauderdale strip. i was 14. june 11th, 2011, 30 years later with 5 years sober, i started walking home. with my walk, walking up the east coast, i would walk about 10 miles in the morning, and then in the afternoons i would visit homeless shelters, treatment centers, battered women shelters. i'd go back into the alleys, under the bridges and tell my story and share hope. i started sandraswalk.org to spread little mustard seeds of hope in places that there were none. and there's a lot of fantastic things going on in the recovery community, and i think the stigma of-of coming into recovery and the fellowships, and you can't do this and

you can't do that, kind of wards people off. it scares people off from coming into recovery, because they think they're going to be sentenced to a church basement and a coffee pot. (music) we have recovery concerts. we have sober comedy events. we have the 12 step music fest in the keys. and there's a lot of fantastic things going on in the recovery community. (music) i'm a person in long-term recovery for 25 years. part of what we're trying to do today is to say addiction is like any other chronic illness. if i break a leg, you know, or i have a lung disease, you know, i have some pretty full access to care. if we truly mean that-that addiction and mental health are like any other chronic disease, we need to, you know, take a look at our public policies and-and ensure

that we're-we're-we're treating it in that way. (music) go out of your way to find out what faces and voices and samhsa and your local organizations are doing for next year, for 2012, and-and do what you've got to do, you know, to get out there and say "hey, yes. we're in recovery. we do recover. we are active, productive citizens in your community. hear us." (music) it's such a special day in so many different ways. it's a community coming together, out in the sunshine in the city of providence, to say to all the residents of our great state that people in recovery are important, that the message of recovery and hope is possible for anyone. (music) from where it came from and taking recovery out of church basements and shadows, and putting it right in the biggest block party in the city of providence, it's mind-boggling, it's astounding, it's awesome.

members of the recovery community in rhode island have all come out, and we've had wonderful speakers and a great day of celebration of the value and importance of support for people who are in recovery. actually seeing recovery in the heart of providence, on main street, bringing the discussion out into the public so we can all be a part of it, is just terrific. we do a lot of public education on a day like this, and let people know who the fellowship is, and that they can come to us for treatment and services in the future. when you've got a mental illness or substance abuse, it can be very lonely, and you can feel very isolated. you can kind of feel like it only is happening to me. and then they come out, and they realize how many other people are taking this journey, too. it's just very uplifting to people. it makes me not feel alone, you know. there are other people that are around, that have the same issues, and it's not only me that i have to worry about.

it's others that also need the support. it is really exciting to see how your great work here in rhode island is being amplified through washington around the country. "recovery benefits everyone" is the national theme this year, and when we see an event like this, when we see people in recovery, family, friends, and allies, everybody getting together, a lot of love, just a lot of celebration. it's very meaningful. it tells the community that people can and do recover and addictions are beatable. we have a torch-lit parade which goes down to waterplace park, and there are 300 luminaries, candles, in which people have-have filled out different cards. we have the candlelight procession, the torchbearers, and we're going to march right into the middle of waterfire. that brings it out into the public forefront. when you see the darkness descend, and you see 300

candles, and you see the torches, and then for the first time this year, we will be part of the official lighting of waterfire. rhode island is just, you know, the smallest state with the biggest event. what can i say? we are here today to advocate for recovery alcoholics and addicts, to educate people not only about the disease of addiction but about the process of recovery. we are here to eliminate stigma and, most of all, we are here to celebrate you. we are here to celebrate recovery. (applause) texas recovers is puttin' on this event called the big texas rally for recovery. big texas rally for recovery. wow. this is huge, because texas, of course now, is a part of promoting recovery at a statewide level.

we've got people from across the state showing up to present a positive face and voice of recovery. we want you to know that recovery is possible. say it loud, say it proud, "i am in recovery!" (crowd: i am in recovery!) it's so important that this event takes place, especially in texas. for so long, people in recovery have been hidden in church basements, and they've kept their anonymity, and everybody needs to know that people do recover and live successful, productive, wonderful lives. and this is one way we can make the public aware that recovery is real, and recovery is rewarding, and recovery restores health and families. the reality of recovery is a whole, healthy community. so everybody benefits. we've got to thank everybody. it's a party out here. and that's the name of the theme for recovery month this year, is that everyone benefits. that's the theme for this year. the recovery month effort run out of washington, dc, is a way for different recovery movements from across the country to

come together and to provide a common voice and-and a voice that will be heard. you guys are the faces and the voices of recovery, and the state needs to see that and to know that giving us half a chance, we can turn out to be some pretty wonderful people. texas recovers is proud to present thomas "hollywood" henderson, a man in long-term recovery. how you doin', thomas? (applause) the suffering need to know that-that there is an us, and the us need to reach out to the suffering. and so bringing events like this around the country lets people know that people recover. people recover. substances took me down some roads that i shouldn't have gone down. i spent 7 months in treatment, aftercare,

morning care, every care, give me some care, where is the care? i'm probably the proudest recovering alcoholic in the world. i haven't had a drink or a drug for 27 years, 10 months, and a few days. (applause) you get to build a new life- because a lot of times people who talk about recovery talk about they want things back. "i wanna to get this back, and i wanna to get that back." i think to get so many new things- because there is life after treatment, and a good life. so it's time for those that have a problem really to get into recovery.

(music) and ladies and gentlemen, i would like all of you

the stories of recovery are the stories of individuals improving their own health and well-being, living self-directed lives, and achieving their full potential. these stories are seen at recovery month events, but, more importantly, they're seen day-in and day-out in people leading a life in long-term recovery.

the recovery movement is a wonderful example of the greatness of america, where diverse people come together and walk a pathway to healing. lives are saved and forever changed. among the estimated 20 million people in long-term recovery, we see health and prosperity, people working, raising families, paying taxes, voting, and volunteering in their communities. people in recovery have reclaimed their lives and are now giving back. while we can all take pride in the successes of the 2011 recovery month events, we must now turn our attention to making 2012 another great year. i hope this show inspires you to organize a recovery month event next september. you can begin now by going to the recoverymonth.gov web site for information on how to get started.

as you can see from the events in 2011, recovery month events come in all shapes and sizes. whatever type of event you choose to do, you will be bringing a sense of hope that people can live healthy, happy, and productive lives. thank you for everything you do to support recovery. let's keep up this exciting work in the coming year, and i sincerely hope that your event will be highlighted in our 2012 showcase of events. (music) for a copy of this program or other programs in the road to recovery series, call samhsa at 1-800-662-help, or order online at recoverymonth.gov, and click multimedia.

>> good morning everybody. all right. welcome to the city and county of san francisco the innovation capital of the world and of course for those of you that come from beyond welcome to the world series champion city and county of san francisco. [applause] thank you for coming to our moscone center, our convention center and lead gold certified building and i can't think of a more appropriate place to host the 2012 green build and expo and conference here in san francisco with a city with more than 48 million square feet of

green certified real estate. [applause] . absolutely. our innovative green building policies ensure while the city's population and economy continue to grow we are decreasing our carbon emissions and achieve a sustainable environment. for instance this requires all new buildings designed to meet the gas reduction goals. that means more than 6 million square feet of commercial space and 11,000 housing units all in the development pipeline have been designed using these principles. [applause] in fact san francisco was recently recognized by the world green building council as having the greenest building policy by

any local level in the year 2011 and we just began implementing our existing commercial energy performance ordinance which helps private property owners lower energy use. through san francisco's program green sf we are making it easier for property owners to secure financing for green building upgrades and as can you see green buildings has become the standard rather than the exception. for our public libraries to affordable housing units, even to the home of our world series giants and their structure our buildings are achieving lead certification at a rapid pace and our san francisco public utilities

commission has won smartest building in the world and we have honors such as the greenest city in north america, the walkable city, and the best green policies, the green tech of north america and forbes recognized that san francisco has the most green jobs in the united states. that's jobs. that's one of the most important things we are doing for the whole country. [applause] and we are creating and sustaining jobs as well as supporting new industries in our city. our energy watch program creates or sustains 180 jobs a year. san francisco has now achieved 80% landfill diversion rate setting the national recycling and compost records

as the high of any city in north america. [applause] and by the way as a former public works director you ought ton how proud i am. we have the best compost in the united states and in fact it's sold to all of the wineries in napa that make and produce the best wines in the world. our partners employs over a thousand green collar employees and solar sf resulted in hiring from employees from disadvantaged communities in the work force program. i want to acknowledge and thank green build towards considering toward the success and the projects and the living wall in the tenderloin community garden and the potrero hill

street farm and let me thank someone that has been invaluable to me and my career and my work and my efforts to make this city successful. i want to acknowledge a pioneer in the sustainable practices our former mayor and now lieutenant governor gavin newsom. [applause] >> a couple years ago then mayor newsom forged a partner with san francisco and president clinton and the clinton global initiative to transform the civic city into the first of its kind sustainable resource district. since then we have built 525 golden gate, our puc building, one of the greenest in north america and on track to receive lead platinum certification. yes. we have installed electric charging

stations here at civic center. we have free wi-fi. we have installations at the urban gardens and led lights in the plaza and we continue to do even more. i am proud to announce here that we have applied for lead certification of eight of the existing buildings in the san francisco historic civic center district. [applause] that will represent more than 2.2 million square feet of civic real estate, including buildings such as city hall, the symphony, the library, the art museum and more. it's challenging to retrofit some of the buildings for energy efficiency and water conservation but we have done it. once lead certified the

civic center retrofit strategies and technology can serve as a model to other cities and i would like to take this opportunity to recognize leaders from all the country and our world that have made great strides in environmental stewardships themselves and have joined in this conference including mayor fong from oakland, mayor kevin johnson from sacramento, mayor cory booker from new ark and hif a applause and support his city with. [applause] i would also like to welcome former governor from new york patacky and thank you for your leadership. over the next days you will learn about sustainable practices. you will network

with the greatest minds in the industry and enjoy your time here. be thoughtful. be creative and go out and lead the befl energy and green policies for the rest of the country. congratulations and thanks for being here in san francisco. [applause]